Indigenous Plant Diva

In the language of the Squamish Nation, Cease Wyss was given the name ‘T’Uy’Tanat’, meaning “Woman who travels by canoe to gather medicines for all people.” In director Kamala Todd’s lyrical portrait, Wyss reveals the remarkable healing powers of plants growing among the sprawling urban streets of downtown Vancouver.

Whether it’s the secret curl of a fiddlehead, the gentleness of comfrey, or the blood red streaks of frog leaf, plants carry with them millennia of wisdom, communicated through colour, texture and form. Cease Wyss has been listening to this unspoken language, and is now passing this ancient and intimate sense of connection to her own daughter, Senaqwila.